What is a Chief Revenue Officer – and Do I Need One?

Chief Revenue Officers (CROs) are the newest breed of C-suite executive. A step above Chief Sales Officers, this role is becoming increasingly common. But CROs are still evolving in responsibilities and importance.

So where did the role of CRO come from? How do you know if you need one? And what would he be responsible for?

The answers all start with your business model.

The Chief Revenue Officer role is critical for harnessing the power of subscription-based business models.

Born Out of the Business Model Shift:

The role of CRO came about when subscription business models began to take off. The shift from transaction to subscription models caused a shift in business focus overall.

In the traditional business model, the focus is on the transaction. The entire customer experience is delivered by 3 departments:

Marketing

Sales

Customer Service

In the new subscription business model, the customer experience gets more complex. It’s critical that customers have an outstanding experience so they continue renewing their subscriptions. As a result, there are more touch points and more robust internal capabilities are required:

Initial messaging

Trial signup

Signup

Customer service

Ongoing retention communications

A CRO is one level above the CSO. He synchronizes these many touchpoints by overseeing sales, marketing, and customer service.

Do You Need a CRO?

Deciding if you need a CRO is actually a simple thing. If your business model is transactional, you’re probably fine with the CSO/CMO standard.

In the transactional model, there are big gaps between customer touchpoints. Centralizing these few touchpoints under a CRO is not beneficial.

That changes in the subscription model. This business model depends on increasing renewal rates and reducing churn. It makes sense to centralize the multiple, contiguous touchpoints under a CRO.

What Does a CRO Do?

A CRO aligns the entire customer experience toward the goal of increasing revenue. He spends much of his time on:

Sales strategy and operations

Marketing strategy and demand funnel

Customer service and retention

Coordinating with product and business development teams

Like a CSO, a CRO has sales targets to meet. But a CRO is also responsible for pre- and post-sales customer experiences. So strong data analytics skills are also critical.

Customer acquisition cost by lead source, and its relation to gross margin

Average selling price fluctuations

Churn rate and reasons

Conversion rates for websites and forms

Most importantly, a successful CRO will find more ways to deliver value to customers. He’ll take customer feedback and turn it into long-term strategy.

A great CRO will create a scalable sales revenue strategy that is also executable. As the role of CRO becomes more popular, you might consider it for your company. Just remember that it works best with a subscription business model.